Summer to Fall Transition & a DIY

September 29, 2015

While it is officially fall on the calendar, it is still hot and humid around these parts with no hope of it cooling down significantly any time soon. But, I’ve been dying seeing all of the sweaters and boots that are already starting to emerge in my social media feeds. I want to wear sweaters and boots, too!

So, I decided to take a very summery outfit and transition it to fall! And, as a bonus, I have another Cut Out + Keep Craft Test Sidekick project to share!

For the base of my look, I took two of my favorite summer pairings, a tank top and skirt, and added some more fall-ready accessories to transition seasons. The sweater is more for the mornings, evenings and in extra-cold A/C at the moment, but it definitely adds to the fall vibe I’m going for, along with the boots, belt and gold jewelry.

I also realize that almost all of this outfit has been thrifted and refashioned, from the boots, which I hand-painted myself, to the skirt, which I refashioned from a thrifted dress. It’s pretty fun to put together an outfit that has been almost entirely customized by you! ;)

Which brings me to today’s super fun DIY project: Cyanotype Tie Dye!

In case you’ve never heard of cyanotype, don’t worry, I hadn’t either until I was offered the chance to test out this Cyanotype Kit from Jacquard as a Cut Out + Keep Craft Test Sidekick! Basically, you can create your own prints or impressions on fabric using these cyanotype chemicals and the sun.

I explain the whole process in my tutorial on Cut Out + Keep (which you can see here), but there are all kinds of ways you can use this process to create some really cool arts and crafts! Here’s an overview of the process:

First, coat your fabric in the chemical mix (following the directions on the package). Then, expose to the sun per the instructions. If you’re making a print, you would lay your project out in the sun, with the object(s) you want imprinted on top of your fabric. Since I was going for a tie-dye effect, I wrapped my tank top up so that only parts of the fabric would be exposed to the sun. (Think of this like you think of making film photographs, exposing chemicals on film to a light source.)

After the allotted amount of time, thoroughly rinse your fabric, making sure to wash away all of the chemicals, or they will continue to react to the sunlight. Hang it up to dry in a dark space (like inside a closet). Once it is completely dry, you’re all done!

As you can see, my tank top came out beautifully! The process has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it is addicting – I want to use cyanotype on everything! I definitely suggest checking out the rest of the projects from other Craft Test Sidekicks because there are some really cool creations and possibilities for this stuff.

So, what do you think? Do tie dye and florals, tank tops and sweaters and cowboy boots all work together??